sports shooting shutter speed discussion

[Dobick]

I was shooting baseball this weekend, and a question/scenario popped up while shooting...

If you are shooting in broad daylight -- for example at a baseball game, and you can get 1/1250 at ISO 100, is that fast enough for you?

Or do you bump the ISO to 200, 400, or even higher should the situation call for it?

For me -- I have found that somewhere around 320 as a base ISO at f/2.8 allows me to over expose by about a 1/2 stop and get plenty of detail on the eyes under the baseball cap and still get 1/4000 or so on the shutter speed. It also allows me to use a wide angle and f/8 on the first base line and get the runner approching the bag while the throw is being made, etc. and still have plenty of shutter speed.

So the question is -- do you always go with the lowest ISO, or will you bump it sometimes to get into the very high range of shutter speeds?

My personal experience is that the background and shadow noise is virtually undetectable (especially with a 1/3 over exposure) at ISO 640 and lower, so I never hesitate in choosing up to that ISO rating.

Just curious as to how others are attacking this situation?

[Jim Boyd]

I know this is just a theoretical discussion, but if I'm shooting at ISO 100 or 200 in broad daylight, I'm getting a shutter speed a lot higher than 1/1250 if I'm at f/2.8. Now at f/8, that might be the case. But in answer to your question, I'd bump my ISO up to get a higher shutter speed for most baseball shots. I shoot with D3's, so that's usually not a problem. If I shot with a camera that produced a lot of noise at the higher ISO's then I think I'd be satisfied with the 1/1250 shutter speed. Just my opinion.

[Dobick]

sunny sixteen rule says ISO 100 = f/2.8 at 1/4000 which is 2 stops faster than 1/1000.

I usually try to expose for the eyes at about a stop slower because of the shadow of the hat, and then have a habit of being another 1/3 more exposed past that (every time I shot with sunny sixteen I get shots that seem a bit too dark for my taste.) On a pure cloudless day that puts me in the 1/2000 range.

You did answer the question though -- in that you do not worry as much about ISO on the D3, which was my question asked and answered much more succinctly.

[Kalrog]

I have a few preferences with my gear. I use Olympus, so my choices are based on that.

I prefer to stay under ISO 400... but for some night time stuff I do go up to 1600 and get pretty good shots.
I prefer to stay above 1/1000... but regularly go as low as 1/320 (again night time) with good results.
I prefer to run at f4 to get the right separation while still having decent amounts in focus, but go as wide as f2 if needed.

If I'm at ISO100 and 1/1000 and f4... I would probably just leave it. I wouldn't up the ISO to get faster unless I was doing auto racing where faster than 1/1000 would be helpful.

[Jim Boyd]

I guess it depends on what you're trying to capture.

If it's real sunny, and I want to catch the ball clearly impacting the bat, or the seams of the ball on an infield grounder, I'd like a shutter speed higher than 1/1000.

Kent - What type of metering do you use? If you use Nikon's matrix or Canon's evaluative metering, and the camera is telling you the proper exposure is 1/4000 at f/2.8, and you shoot at 1/2000 to catch the eyes, isn't the rest of your photo overexposed?

Mind you, I only shoot about 12 baseball games all year, so I'm no expert.

I'm shooting a few this weekend, so I'll experiment with your settings.

[Dobick]

Jim -- I usually use spot metering, and yes the rest of the photo is somewhat over exposed. Granted I am not always a full stop over, it's just that I like the latitude that I get with the file a whole lot more when I am somewhat overexposed vs underexposed on the eyes/shadow areas (which usually includes the whole batters area because of the press box)

[humminboid]

Broad daylight? 1/1000 sec. will stop darn near anything! Shutter priority, and let the f/stops go where they will. Need "more"? ASA 400 or 800.

Matrix metering will do it better,if you let it. The only thing it doesn't handle well is extreme backlighting, but that is what the exposure comp. button is for,right?

Shoot, evaluate, peering thoughtfully at the LCD screen, chin in hand, mumbling somethng like; ( "Hmmmm., gotta increase the megaframmis inhabulation to reduce the circle of confusion...Yeah, that's it!)

Trust me, NOBODY will ask you what you are doing. Then adjust as necessary, repeat a couple of times; and Voila! You have it!.

[texpic]

Most of the time I shoot sports at ISO 320 in daylight. Want as much shutter as possible, within reason.

[BigShot62]

I would say it depends on the sport too. Pitched baseballs and bats are hard to freeze at 1/1000- I'd opt for something faster there if I could. Soccer, football, lacrosse- 1/1000 is fine, take the lower iso.